Deadpool's Art of War #1Review

At this point, Deadpool is essentially the Oreo of comic cookies; he comes in a lot of different flavors, some conventional, some not, and overall mileage varies from person to person. Deadpool’s Art of War is one new such flavor, and while the series gets points for a premise both entertaining and original, it’s initial execution doesn’t exactly go down smooth.

The idea behind the book is a simple one; Deadpool, through ways unknown, has again wandered into the past, where he soon takes ill begotten ownership of the text of what would come to be known as the Art of War. Hilarity and general mischief ensues as writer Peter David attempts to reinterpret the text from the deranged mind of the mercurial merc. While cool in concept, issue #1 takes a while to get going. The opening introduction is a tad too long, and while ‘Pool’s attempt to sell the manuscript proves amusing, it prevents the story from really starting until almost halfway through.

It’s also difficult at times to really understand the tone David is going for. While not every Deadpool comic needs to be rife with self referential humor or random tangents, David plays Wade almost oddly straight, only offering a few choice examples of commentary or humor. These moments are admittedly great, but considering that the whole premise of the mini is built around one giant “what-if?” the more serious tone is noticeable.

Luckily, Scott Koblish proves the book's saving grace, the artist on hand to render Wade’s various exploits once more. Combined with the muted colors provided by Val Staples, Koblish’s art has an almost antiquated look to it, his sharp lines and detailed backdrops right at home with David’s time-warped subject matter. The artist also proves adept at filling a page, many sequences requiring an impressive amount of fully realized (and colorfully dressed) characters.

Jeff is a writer for IGN. He can make the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs, probably. Follow him on Twitter and IGN.

Okay

Some pacing issues and an uneven tone mar Deadpool's return to the past.